CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN WITH THE BOYS

Last October 5, 2013, we went to Greenbelt to watch Repertory's production of ALICE IN WONDERLAND. We were all pretty excited to watch with Andrei, the musical theatre newbie, that we woke up freakishly early to get good seats.  

I'm Jazmin... I'm addicted to photogrid.... He he he he!

My boys enjoyed ALICE IN WONDERLAND and were asking  when we could watch the show again. As much as I loved Repertory Philippines rendition of this Lewis Carroll classic, me suspects that little Andrei has a crush on pretty Alice, hence his urgency to have a repeat of the show.

To divert his attention from running to the ticket booth once more to catch the NEXT show (yes that's how much he wanted to watch ASAP), I immediately asked if they were in the mood for pizza and pasta. And with their very resounding YES, I finally heaved a sigh of relief that we won't be catching 2 showings of Alice going down the rabbit hole, no matter how good their production was, in one day. 

If it was any consolation, I tried to invite little Alice in Facebook and even wrote her a letter saying my wee guy has a crush on her. I guess, she found me somewhat creepy because she hasn't added me in her FB list yet.

Kids today!!! Tsk tsk! HA HA HA HA HA! 

Our "savior", CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN or CPK!

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE

By Eric John Yap

I work in a company called Michelin and I am required to go around almost all corners of the country to educate/train bus and truck drivers/owners on the proper usage of our tires. While on the road I get hungry so I would stop at nearby restaurants to fuel up my appetite. On some days, I would be satisfied by fast food or msg-filled dishes from eateries. But there are times when I just have to get big ton of meat into my system that would ensure me energy packs to last through the day... or even the week.

I'm glad that the famous steak franchise of OUTBACK has some serious lunch specials in their menu. And of course, since I am a father of 3 (if you count my "special" wife, he he he) I really appreciated that they made these dishes affordable for the working, albeit, growing man.

OUTBACK lunch offerings are perfect for those who want their mid-day food to be on the "full" side without emptying their pockets. So once in a while when I just need that "boost" via a hot plate brimming with food, I could go to OUTBACK and savor the juices of my hard work. And since prices are friendly, at least I would still have money to take out my lovely wife at night.

She asked me to add that by the way.

OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE!

Great meal... Good deal lunch specials!

LAS PAELLAS

My paternal aunts from somewhere far, far, far, away were here last August and as a welcoming "gift" to them, me and my husband decided to treat them to one of their favorite restaurants, LAS PAELLAS. 

Oh yes, do realize that in our family, events and gifts always coincide with the word EAT: 

"Oh it's your birthday? Let's eat... " "Oh you just had your first day of school? Let's Eat" "Oh you just had hair implants in your forehead? Let's Eat."

By the way, the last line? Purely fictional and wishful thinking on MY part. Tee hee... 

LAS PAELLAS CAFE

LAS PAELLAS in Greenhills accepts reservations on weekends that's why I think it's a perfect restaurant for the family after church. 

Believe me, the last thing you want is to see my growing boy wailing and pulling his hair if he does not eat on time....

I'm talking about my husband by the way... Tee hee!

ARISTOCRAT

I don't really know if you could call it epic parenting or passing on sappy but one thing is for sure, when there is a special occasion, we celebrate it the TEAM YAP way!

So for last June 12, 2013, wherein the country rejoiced for the Philippine's Indepence Day, EricJaz Foodies with the kids decided to have a Manila Day by touring some of our historic hot spots.

And yes, we added an extra notch in the fun level by wearing matching Philippines Shirts! HA!

Here's Team Yap doing our usual L-O-V-E stand by Philippine hero Lapu Lapu... He he he he!

Yes we always do that pose where ever we go.

Anyway, I might do a blog post on our Manila day soon but for now, let me tell you about our delicious Filipino meal at one of our all time favorites...

ARISTOCRAT!

And yes, ARISTOCRAT has been with us since 1936!

DONU PORK AND BEEF GRILL

When my husband and I go out for dinner on our usual date nights, is very convenient for us to eat in mall restaurants since we would watch a movie afterwards. It is very rare that we would just go out on a lone dining establishment UNLESS that place is very, very, special.

And yes, we are very glad to discover that DONU really, really, falls in that category.

We first saw DONU upon the recommendations of the great Spanky Enriquez (JUICE.PH) where he raved about the delicious food at a very cheap price. Then, when we had a Korean craving one night, we knew it was the place for us because he said our favorite keywords -- "delicious" and "cheap".

I'm sure you would say that there are many similar restaurants out there situated in our family favorite malls, but when it comes to Korean food, I would personally forego the commercialized ones and head for the establishment frequented by it's "locals".

And DONU certainly fits that Korean bill! It's a major plus too that they show Koreanovelas while you eat. Teee hee!

I know Koreanovelas won't really seal the deal for some but what the heck. Wouldn't you like to know what happened to the "Coffee Prince" while you eat???

Oh yes... I know my "priorities". Tee hee!

DONU!!!

MY THAI

(March 29, 2013)

My husband fetched me from work one Friday evening and I think I got out a wee late that's why we cannot go to a mall anymore.

So this would be our "quick bite for dinner and go home" date...

Sort of like a QUICKIE! YEAAAH!

A "quickie" with bagoong rice? Now may I say THAT seems tasty but nasty at the same time depending on how you look at it? Ha ha ha! 

Oh well... Men are from Mars and Girls are from Venus I know.

Anywho, so we passed by Wilson avenue and was about to go to our usuals when MY THAI caught my eye.  I have always wanted to try the little Thai restaurant that could but never got to because we would always pig out in PHO HOA instead (Check that out HERE)! So this time, we will detach ourselves from the usual clasps of vietnamese pho and have for ourselves some exciting Thai food!

Oh wow... Quickies have never been this good! Tee hee!

MY THAI!

THE CAKE CLUB

There was a time that I was very addicted to coffee...

Wait hold on, addicted may be such a strong word. So let's try dependent. 

Yes there was a time where in whatever I do, wherever I was, I just HAVE to have coffee. And this was not the when-I-wake-up in the morning sort of dependency. It's more like, instead of water, I'll just have coffee. 

Yes. That bad. I remember when I was in radio before, I used to chug down 4 tall mugfuls of coffee at one sitting. And hey, this was BESIDES the one at morning, one at noon, and one at night thing. So all in all that's like 8 tall mugs of coffee? It's a wonder that my teeth is not in 50 shades of black. 

Ugh... not a pretty sight.... 

On a Tuesday holiday, ERICJAZ FOODIES received an invite to try out the new hand dripped coffee offered by THE CAKE CLUB. Now I let out an smug snort to my husband boasting that yes, I know this. I "breathed" coffee before so there would be no problem in my "appreciation" here. So I was all so cocky and Ms. Know-It-All while going to Bonifacio High Street Central.

But wow. Big surprise. It turns out, my very menial knowledge about coffee is like a speck of dust to what I am missing. And the CAKE CLUB just charmingly exposed that. Ha ha ha ha!

My "loving" husband of course, took a lot of pictures of me being clueless.  So TYPICAL of him. It's okay though. I drowned my embarrassment from him by burying my face in the delicious food that THE CAKE CLUB has to offer.

And then just like that, everything was a-okay again. Only this time, I have added to my "dependency" the wonderful hand dripped coffee offered by THE CAKE CLUB!

THE CAKE CLUB by the DIAMOND HOTEL! 

Now THIS is one club I would like to have a life time membership in!

HAPPY HOUR AT VILLAGE TAVERN

No matter how perfect your life is or how beautiful/handsome or rich you are (uh mutant?), there would always be nights when you just want to get away from all of the pressure and just have a James Bond moment.

I could do the usual cliche that nobody does it better but yeah, 007 just has all the right moves! BETTER than Jagger! Ha! (Kidding!)

Anywho, just in case you DO feel like going out for drinks in the middle of the work week, why not head over to THE VILLAGE TAVERN? Because from now until November 15, 2013 they have the "ALL NIGHT HAPPY HOUR" where your favorite drinks are 50% off from 5pm to 12pm midnight!!!

You heard/saw that right! 50% off! At least you'll have an excuse to get some drinks to relax but not get too sloshed since you still have work the next day.

And just in case you feel like partying with friends on a Friday, the Red and White Sangrias take center stage and get the price cut.

Ha! I'm sure Mr. Bond will drop his usual "shaken not stirred" martini when he gets news of this!

And the best thing besides these cool cocktails at THE VILLAGE TAVERN at half the price?

The food!!

And yes, my husband, the handsome, perfect, and rich guy that he is, was able to taste this all.

And by rich and perfect, I meant RICH from the love that his PERFECT wife gives.

HA!

And by the way, it's YAP... ERIC YAP. 

Welcome to VILLAGE TAVERN!

The VILLAGE TAVERN is nestled right at Bonifcaio High Street Central where all the new hang-outs are now parked.

ITALIANNIS BREAKFAST at BONIFACIO HIGH STREET

I am a Mommy who loves routine. 

Call me a drama queen or just plain cuckoo but I always love following a certain schedule that when something comes up to disrupt our usual day's routine, I get really, really peeved. 

No, not just peeved... "Hulk-ish" even. 

But of course, I don't make it obvious since I'm TRYING to act like a lady so I just keep it all inside.

And that is why if I may seem constipated to you, THAT is the explanation for it. Ha ha ha ha!

Anyway, on Sundays I would really prefer to spend it with my little TEAM YAP family with this itinerary: 

1) Church in the morning. 

2) Breakfast

3) Cause Pandemonium in Ortigas or Fort area.

     --- add Manila if we'll go to museums.
4) Lunch with my family

5) Sunday syesta (I need this or I get cranky the whole week)

6) Family dinner!

Yes, ROUTINE may be very important to all of us. But then sometime, somewhere, SOMETHING will come up that will encourage us to make that cool change.

The same goes for the breakfast offerings of ITALIANNIS in Bonifacio High Street. I have to admit that when it's time for us to have breakfast after church, we will always go for donuts or that little house with pancakes. It was so inconceivable for us to troop over to ITALIANNIS since we connect the much revered restaurant more to Pizzas and Pastas. And I guess a majority of foodies were also not aware of it in the Bonifacio High Street branch since hungry diners would just flock in come lunch or dinner time.

And yes, the morning grub of ITALIANNIS is something worth changing your usual morning habit or choice of breakfast restaurants for.  I tell you the moment we opened the menu for our Sunday morning meal, we were blown away with the numerous choices that we did not expect!

And since the taste is comparable to the deliciousness of their lunch and/or dinner entrees, you are sure to include ITALIANNIS in your breakfast plans whenever you're in Bonifacio High Street.

By the way, their coffee is so good too that I MIGHT not care if I miss my afternoon beauty sleep! He he he he!

ITALIANNIS Bonifacio High Street!

GANSO SHABUWAY (Part deux)

As much as I love going out with friends, workmates, or even husband (he he he he!), NOTHING beats lunch or dinner with one of my sons.

I remember that we started this tradition like 2 years ago when I got the idea to have a DATE NIGHT with either Mati or Andrei. Of course we are still going to make night outs with TEAM YAP a priority but I love spending quality one on one time with the boys as I find that they behave differently when the other little lord is not there. Plus, I get a certain thrill taking them to the restaurants me and my Yub go to on our dates and act all "grown-uppy" with them.

It is so fun! If you have kids, try it out. Believe me, it would definitely be a night for you to remember.

I guess the same could be said for the kids because when I ask Mati when is the happiest day of his life, he would often say it was when we had our first "Mommy and Mati date night".

And you know what? It IS true that the love and care you show your kids really goes back to you. We now have this new tradition that on Valentine's week, besides going out with my husband, I will also  go out on a date with Mati one night, then Andrei on another night.

And just the previous week, Mati declared that when he grows up he will also take me out on Valentimes (that's what we call it) and give me P150.00.

:)

Like I said, Kiddie Date Nights are the best!

Except for the part that I have to pay for dinner since it is usually my husband who foots the bill. He he he he he!

Oh well... At least I have P150.00!

GANSO SHABUWAY!

One TEAM YAP Sunday outing, my husband and I decided to each have a "DATE NIGHT" with our sons in Powerplant Mall. 

While Yub and Andrei went to Pepper Lunch, I asked Mati where he wanted to go and he said GANSO SHABU WAY!

PALAISDAAN RESTAURANT

Okay so it may be bold of me to say this but you haven't really LIVED if you have not eaten yet in PALAISDAAN in Tayabas, Quezon Province. Because if you are looking for a meal that is so delicious and so overwhelming that it is almost like the last meal for a person on death row, then this is the one.

Not to mention, the food is WAY cheap! 

It is a wonder though that I wrote about PALAISDAAN just now when me and my hub make eating here a NECESSITY every time we're in Lucena. Yes EVERYTIME. If we don't get to eat here, for some reason, we will be unexplainably ill! Yes! We are THAT dependent on our daily dose of PALAISDAAN.

Heck, the first time I went to Lucena when me and my hub were just going out (as BF GF) we went straight to PALAISDAAN! If it wasn't too far from the church, we would have held our wedding reception here! Tee hee!

So if I were to make an entry every time we eat at PALAISDAAN, it would've dominated my silly little food blog. Plus, we usually eat here using our hands so that would be a messy problem for my camera now would it? Not to mention when the food is laid down the table, we would all pounce on it like hungry wolves that there is really nothing left to document.

Anyway, check out the one time I have finally controlled my appetite and took pictures before the food disappeared like magic.

Read on and drool guys. Read on and drool. 

PALAISDAAN RESTAURANT!

There are 2 Palaisdaan Restaurants in Tayabas, Quezon Province and they are even in front of each other. We always go to the OLDER one (the one on the left if you're coming from Manila which is AFTER the new one) because service there is fast and the waiters are more accommodating.